


no one's majesty but yours

by gerudozelda



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gaang (Avatar), Happy Ending, Hugs, Kissing, NBS Secret Santa, Nostalgia, One Shot, Republic City, fluff with a bit of angst, soft, zuko being dramatic as usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gerudozelda/pseuds/gerudozelda
Summary: This fic is a oneshot written for one of my very best friends, Trish.Trish, I wish you a merry christmas and a happiest holiday season, and I hope you enjoy this little piece of the Avatar universe I wrote for you. Thank you for making my 2020 so much better.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	no one's majesty but yours

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is for @kyoshisfans on twitter :)

Fire Lord Zuko rolled over in bed, only to be met with the glaring light of the sun through the blinds hitting his eyes at exactly the wrong angle. He groaned, groggily running his fingers over his face and through his hair. He lay on his back, staring at the ornate ceiling above his bed for a few minutes, trying to muster the energy to roll out of bed.  
Suddenly, he remembered what day it was, and jolted awake. “Tomorrow is Katara’s 18th birthday!” he yelled happily to himself, “I get to go to the city to see her!” He no longer needed to muster the energy to get out of bed, his excitement was practically yanking him out of his perfectly soft mattress. He got dressed as quickly as possible, throwing on the first thing he could reach. He combed his hair and brushed it out of his eyes. His stomach rumbled, but breakfast would have to wait -- he had to get to his boat.  
The ruler of the Fire Nation raced down the overly decorated stairs like a giddy schoolboy, a bag he had packed a week before in anticipation racing behind him. He was almost out the door when he was stopped by a servant.  
“Your Majesty, where are you going?” he asked. Zuko cringed. He hated it when they called him ‘Your Majesty.’  
“I’m going to walk to the docks.”  
“Nonsense, your Majesty. We have set up the palanquin-”  
“I don’t want to take the palanquin. I want to walk.”  
“The Fire Lord should not be walking anywhere, Your Majesty.”  
“I don’t care, I’m walking to the docks,” retaliated Zuko, “and stop calling me Your Majesty.”  
He ran out the door and away from the palace before the servant had a chance to respond. As soon as the intricate decorations of the palace door were out of view, Zuko began his walk to the docks. He could not wait to set sail, as he hadn’t seen his friends in over a year. It was shocking how much there was to do for a boy of barely 20, even if he was the Fire Lord. This would be a nice break. He walked over a small hill and saw the docks at the bottom, his boat ready to go and the crew standing in front of the gangway ready to greet him. Despite being the Fire Lord for almost four years, he never got used to being the guest of honor everywhere he went. He never understood why they were so formal over the simplest things, always watching and waiting. Zuko hated making eye contact with his staff, because he could always see just a flicker of fear behind their eyes. He had his tyrant father to thank for that.  
As he stepped off the gangway and onto a fire nation boat for the first time since he was a teenager, he felt overwhelmed with emotions and memories. The last time he was in charge of a fire nation watercraft, he was on an obsessive journey to capture the avatar and restore his honor. Now, he was on his way to the city that he had helped Aang establish. As he stood near the edge of the boat, reminiscing, he completely forgot that he was blocking the entrance.  
“Your majesty, are you alright?” says one of the staff members. “Do you need food? Water? Medec-”  
“I’m ok. Just...thinking.” interrupted Zuko.  
“Of course, your Majesty.” he bowed and walked away. Disregarding the servant, Zuko made his way to the captain’s quarters.  
Later that night, as he lay on the bed, he thought of Katara. He missed everyone, but he missed her most of all. He had always had a bit of a crush on her, though he had spent years suppressing it. Aang was his best friend, and best friends don’t steal each other’s girlfriends.  
So instead of indulging his thoughts, he rolled over and went to sleep.

___________________________

Zuko stayed in his quarters for a majority of the trip. He did not particularly care for his nosy staff, nor the nonexistent view of endless ocean. He much preferred to keep to himself in his bedroom. He had almost lost track of the time when a servant knocked on his bedroom door 4 times to signal to him that they had arrived.  
He emerged from the dark, warmly lit room and was greeted with the blinding natural light. He always regretted going outside. It was only when his eyes adjusted, and he was met with the glorious view of Republic City in the distance that he thanked the servant for bringing him out.  
The architectural mastery of the newly established city was unquestionable. The gigantic steel buildings were able to scrape the sky unlike any other building feat of the age, thanks to Toph inventing metalbending. It was a wonder to behold from far away, and even more up close. Zuko stood at the front of the ship just taking in the view. As they began to get closer, the docks came into view, and he saw some tiny moving figures. _I wonder what those are? _He wondered to himself. But as they finally pulled into port, he realized it was all of his old friends waiting to greet him. Fire Lord Zuko rarely smiled, but that was enough to make his grin spread from ear to ear.  
Zuko wasn’t even off the gangway when he was tackled by Sokka and pulled into a close hug. He was startled at first, but accepted the hug. He had missed this.  
“BEST FRIEND!!” yelled Sokka once he finally let go. “I missed you so much!”  
“I missed you too, Sokka,” he said with a chuckle.  
Sokka quickly draped his arm around Zuko and gestured to the city. “There’s so much to show you! The city has improved so much since you were here last!” He started to pull Zuko towards the buildings but was quickly stopped in his tracks by a rock that shot out of the ground.  
“You can have a makeout session later,” said Toph, still in her earthbending stance. “The rest of us need to say hi to Sparky.”  
“GROUP HUG!” shouted everyone at the same time, and before he knew it, he was on the ground with all of his friends on top of him. He had missed them so much. They were blocking the path, and crew members had to walk around them, but they didn’t care, and neither did he. In this moment, Zuko was happier than he had been in a long time.  
_____________________________

__The reunion on the docks left Zuko’s heart full. They began a walk through the city, on the way to a restaurant for them to have lunch before they had to go to city hall to watch Katara be ordained as the Water Tribe ambassador.  
He looked behind him and saw Katara was walking alone. _This is my chance, _he thought to himself, as he made his way to the back of the group. “Hey Katara,” he said.  
“Zuko! I’m so happy to see you! It’s been way too long.”  
“I’ve missed you too!”  
Katara quickly stopped them in their tracks and pulled him into a hug. He wasn’t expecting it, but he accepted and returned it gladly. She was a really good hugger.  
Zuko tried to suppress the incoming red in his cheeks, but he could feel his face getting hot.  
“Hey lovebirds! We’re here!” called Suki. Katara and Zuko let go and blushed profusely.  
“Ha! Your heart rates spiked so fast!” laughed Toph. “Classic!”  
“Leave them alone, Toph, let’s go inside. I’m starving.” said Aang, trying to hide a laugh.  
Once they were inside, Zuko took the seat next to Katara, expecting pushback from the avatar, but he sat at the other end of the table next to Toph.  
“Why isn’t Aang fighting me for the seat next to you?” asked Zuko. “This is a first.”  
Zuko took a sip of water. “We, uh, broke up a few months ago.” Katara said, way more casually than it should have been. He spat his water back out into his cup out of shock. “Really?” he said excitedly. He quickly realized he was not supposed to be excited. He cleared his throat. “Uh. I mean. Really? Why didn’t you write to me or anything?”  
“Because I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”  
“Katara, of course it’s a big deal. I’m here for you, always.”  
“We just didn’t fit as we got older.” she said, casually drinking water. “Besides, I have my eye on someone else anyway.”  
Zuko smiled a little, filled with hope.  
“Zuko, this is supposed to be a happy day. I missed you, and I’m so excited you get to come to the ceremony!  
That cheered him up a lot. “You’re right.” he said. He raised his water glass to get the attention of the rest of the table. “I’d like to make a toast to Katara,” he said. Everyone followed suit.  
“To Katara!” they shouted, clinking their glasses together, laughing and spilling water all over the table.  
______________________________ _

____Zuko was so excited as the group shuffled into the town hall for the ceremony. Katara was going to be the Southern Water Tribe ambassador! Now that they’re both going to be leaders, he’ll get to see her so much more often!  
He ended up being on the aisle seat, next to Toph. There weren’t very many people, just friends and family, so only a couple rows were filled. The ceremony began and Zuko found that he didn’t want to listen to Hakoda, he just wanted to look at Katara. _She looks so excited, and she is so pretty when she’s excited, I am so happy for her- _  
His thoughts were interrupted by a jab in the ribcage from Toph.  
“Ouch!” he whispered. “What was that for?”  
“It’s so painfully obvious you like her, Sparky.” she whispered back. “Take your damn shot already.”  
“What? No, I don’t like her.”  
Sokka leaned forward in his chair. “Dude. Even without Toph’s freaky lie detector magic, I can tell you’re bluffing.”  
Zuko slumped back into his chair. _Is it really that obvious? _He thought.  
“For the record, I can feel you blushing right now.” whispered Toph.  
“Shut up,” he chuckled back at her.  
Through the rest of the ceremony, he did his best to pay attention, but he was too lost in his thoughts to retain any of the information. Before he knew it, it was over. As he got up to congratulate her, Sokka put his arm around him. “Go for it,” he whispered. “There’s a restaurant run by a chef from the Northern Water tribe just a few blocks away. Trust me.” and walked away.  
_You know what? Screw it. I’m gonna ask her out. _Zuko thought. He walked over to the group with confidence in his stride. He stood toward the back, waiting for others to finish offering their congratulations. Finally, he was alone with Katara. She looked so beautiful, smiling from ear to ear.  
He playfully bowed. “Congratulations, Madame Ambassador,” he said in a terrible French accent.  
She curtseyed back. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” she replied, her accent even worse than his. Your Majesty didn’t sound so bad when she said it. Both of them almost high on endorphins, they started laughing uncontrollably. He took a deep breath, his heart beating out of his chest and said,  
“What do you say we sneak away from the group and go out for a celebratory dinner at that water tribe food place down the street?”  
She was silent for a minute. Her deep blue eyes pierced his soul, almost like she was reading him. _She isn’t saying anything, Zuko thought, starting to panic. Oh God, she isn’t saying anything I’ve really fucked up this time, what if- _  
“Hell yeah. Come on, before they notice.” She grabbed his hand and led him out the door. As they stumbled out into the street, Zuko didn’t even realize how much he was smiling. This was the greatest day of his life.  
____________________________________ _ _ _

____________They had been running for a block or two when they stopped, completely out of breath.  
“I’ve never gotten to do something like this. Aang was never keen on small, rebellious, acts. I feel like a kid again.” she said with a grin, twirling so her hair flowed behind her. Zuko was mesmerized.  
“Yeah, me too.” he said. “Let’s go inside, I’m hungry.”  
They asked the waiter for a table. It was a fancy restaurant, and although the intense smell of stewed sea prunes made Zuko want to hurl into his bag, Katara was grinning from ear to ear, and that made it easy for him to bear. They were led to a table in the back, and Katara still looked as giddy as ever.  
Once they had settled in and ordered food, (Zuko steered clear of the sea prunes), “Happy birthday Katara,” he said. “I got you a present.”  
“Oh, Zuko, you didn’t need to do that for me.” she replied, blushing.  
He reached into his bag and handed her a small, poorly wrapped box. “I wrapped it myself,” he said. “Sorry.”  
Katara chuckled. Zuko couldn’t help but wonder if she missed him as much as he had missed her. She tore open the wrapping paper and opened the box to reveal a wooden beaded bracelet, with the water tribes and fire nation insignias engraved on either side of each ball. “I hope you like it, I didn’t know if you would prefer a necklace or a bracelet, and I can make a new one without the fire nation insignias, I didn’t-”  
She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “Zuko.” she said quietly.  
“Yeah?” he replied.  
“I love it. It’s perfect.”  
“Really?”  
She intertwined her fingers with his. “Yes. Really.”  
They spent the rest of the evening touring the city. It was so much different than either of their hometowns, the buildings and bustle of city life was new to each of them. It made for a fun adventure. As the night went on, his anxiousness went down. He forgot all the responsibilities of being Fire Lord, and let himself be free with her.  
They played hide and seek in every park in the city. They went on a mission to locate their statues and the statues of their friends. They played pranks on store merchants, particularly the cabbage man they had come to love so much. Fire Lord Zuko was truly having the greatest night of his life.  
Right before sunset, they found themselves near the hotel they would all be staying at. Katara looked at Zuko, mischief in her eyes, and said: “Zuko, do you want to help me steal Appa?”  
“Watching the sunset over Republic City on a flying bison with my favorite person? Yes, please,” he said with a chuckle. They snuck around the back to the stables, and it became clear it wouldn’t be a very difficult bison heist. Appa was clearly not happy with his living quarters.  
“Hey buddy,” said Zuko. “We’re gonna bust you out of here.”  
The bison roared happily. “Shhhh!” said Katara. “We have to be quiet.” She took some water out of her bottle and stuck it into the keyhole, maneuvering the water up and down to fit the lock, and froze it in place to make a key.  
“You are a genius.” said Zuko as the gate squeaked open.  
She flipped her hair back, a smile of satisfaction on her face. “I know.”  
They quickly climbed onto the bison, squeezing next to each other in the driver’s seat, giggling like little kids. “Yip yip!” shouted Katara, and they were off.  
Up in the air, they moved to the saddle, lying down on their backs and looking up at the brilliance of colors in the sky.  
“You know, I’m really glad we did this.” said Katara.  
“Me too.”  
She scooted closer to him, laying her head on his chest. “I’m serious,” she said. “I’m an adult today. As much as I want to be water tribe ambassador, I don’t think I’m going to get the chance to do something like this again. To be free. Thank you, Zuko.”  
“Tell me about it,” he said back. “Being the Fire Lord doesn’t exactly open the most doors for being a normal teenager. This is the most fun I’ve ever had. So thank you, Katara.”  
She rolled over and cupped her hand on his cheek, running her fingers along his scar, her thumb on his lip. He combed her hair out with his fingers. Their shadows got longer as the colors in the sky became more and more vibrant. He lifted her chin and made eye contact, silent for a bit.  
“Can I kiss you?” he asked.  
“I think it’s long overdue,” she replied.  
Then, just as the last of the sun dipped below the horizon, their lips locked. The perfect ending to the perfect day. Zuko had been waiting for this moment since the day they came back from their field trip all those years ago. But little did he know, Katara had been waiting for it too.  
____________

___  
_ The End_ _


End file.
